


Starting Over

by anchor_bird_94



Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:55:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28715355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anchor_bird_94/pseuds/anchor_bird_94
Summary: Betty and Jughead haven't seen each other in 5 years and things are a bit awkward.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	Starting Over

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!! ❤

B?"  
They are standing in the hallway of Riverdale high, it's the first day of Junior year and Veronica is growing increasingly worried at the pale complection and look of shock that her best friend is suddenly sporting.  
"Betty." She prompts again. This time with a slight shake of the blonds shoulder. 

Betty is keenly aware of her friend trying to get her attention but never the less it takes her a moment to come back to reality. She feels as if though the wind has been knocked out of her. She never thought she would see him again. The him in question being Jughead Jones. Her childhood best friend. 

Growing up Betty had two best friends. Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones. The three of them were glued at the hip from such a young age. Betty couldn't even tell you how old they actually were when they all started hanging out together. Perhaps they were still in diapers, for sure they were still playing in the sand box. They had all had so many great adventures together and although Betty and Archie were still best friends and neighbors, Jughead had suddenly left town with his mom and sister years ago. 

It had completely shattered 11 year old Betty's heart because despite having two best friends the difference between Archie and Jughead was that little Betty Cooper had been in love with Jughead Jones since the moment in second grade when he noticed her digging her nails into her palms. Betty had been embarrassed that her self harming coping mechanism was no longer a secret. She feared he would judge her but instead Jughead took her tiny hands in his, looked her in the eye and simply said "Things will be ok, I promise." From that moment on, little Betty Cooper's heart belonged to Jughead Jones. 

Now here he was standing down the hall from her, staring at her with those beautiful blue eyes and sporting a nervous smile. She would recognize him anywhere. Of course his infamous crown beanie was a dead give away but even still she would never forget his face. He was older and somehow even better looking which made Betty a bit angry.   
Betty's last thought before turning to give her newest best friend Veronica her full attention was: Why couldn't he have gotten ugly? 

"Huh, what? Sorry Veronica." 

"What happened B, you looked like you had seen a ghost or something?" Veronica exclaimed. 

"Or something." Betty whispered quietly. She realized then that Jughead was advancing towards her and in an effort to avoid having to tackle the feelings she thought were long gone from her mind she quickly turned to walk in the opposite direction, pulling Veronica with her. 

"Betty what's going on, home room was back that way?" 

"Jughead." Betty choked out as they tucked themselves into a little corner of the newest hallway they had turned down. 

For a brief moment Veronica looked confused as she repeated the name and then Betty watched as realization spread across Veronica's face. 

"Jughead, as in THE JUGHEAD?! The best friend, the boy who gave you that stupid necklace you wear all day everyday, the Jughead you were in love with at the ripe young age of like 7? Which I still concede is too young to know your in love with someone." Veronica blurts out without taking so much as a breath. 

"Yes, yes that Jughead." Betty confirms with an eye roll as she mindlessly plays with the necklace Veronica had spoken of. 

"Holy smokes girl, why didn't you point him out to me? Introduce us even? I desperately need to meet the beanie boy that has had my B in Knots for uncountable years." Veronica questions with far too much enthusiasm for the current emotional state that Betty is in. 

"Because V, I don't know how to feel about this." Betty all but whisper shouts. "He just left Veronica, he didn't say goodbye, he just left." Betty's voice cracks as she fights off tears she has no interest in shedding. 

"Oh B." 

Betty deflates as Veronica pulls her into a comforting hug.  
\---- 

Jughead felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest as he watched Betty walk away from him. He knew coming back would mean seeing her again and Jughead would be lying if he said he wasn't both happy and terrified at that knowledge.  
Judging by the way Archie had reacted when he ran into him late last night at Pops, Jughead knew he had some explaining to do if he was ever going to regain his friendship with Betty. 

Archie had forgiven him pretty easily when he had explained that his mom had taken him and Jellybean and carted them off to Toledo in the middle of the night when she had found out that his drunk off his ass dad had finally done something bad enough to get himself arrested. 

Jughead had begged and pleaded with his mom to stay long enough to let him say goodbye but his mom was fearful and just plain fed up. She wouldn't have stayed another second for anything. 

Now as Jughead entered his first class back at Riverdale High all he could think about was Betty. About how beautiful she still was , even more so if he was being honest. About how just seeing her again had provided him with a source of happiness and comfort he hadn't felt in 5 years. Most important though he couldn't stop hoping that she would once again be a permanent fixture in his life, if only he could just get her to talk to him. 

\----  
Betty had tried very hard to forget about the events of this morning but as she waited for 3rd period English to start the person she was so desperately trying to ignore came sauntering in. Choosing to sit in the desk beside her. 

She watched out of the corner of her eye as Jughead leaned toward her. 

"Betty, can we talk?" Jughead spoke nervously. 

Unable to resist she turned to look at him. He smiled. Why was he so handsome she thought. Betty didn't know what to say to him. She was experiencing a spectrum of emotions. Anger, confusion, but also happiness that he was back. Betty didn't want to be happy about that though because she was hurt. 

Before she could say anything she was saved by the bell. 

\---   
Jughead could see the pain in Betty's eyes and he hated that he had been the one to hurt her even if he had no choice in the matter. 

He sat quietly beside her as class went on. Unable to stop himself from looking in her direction every chance he got. God she was beautiful was the phrase that kept running through his head. 

Class seemed to be over as soon as it had started giving him another chance to talk to her. 

"Betts?" 

Swinging her body towards him he couldn't help but notice the necklace she was wearing. It was the one he had gotten her for her 10th birthday. A vile of fairy dust to make all her wishes come true. Jughead started to smile but then Betty finally spoke. 

"I can't do this Jughead." Betty spoke with finality before quickly turning away from him again, gathering her things and walking away from him for the second time that day. 

Jughead was confused as to why Betty would still be wearing that necklace if she was so mad at him. He exited the classroom shortly after, feeling defeated. 

"Oh hey man, I was wondering when I would see you today. How's your first day back going?" Archie spoke with enthusiasm as he came up behind him. 

Jughead winced at the hard pat on the back Archie gave him. Archie had never known his own strength. 

"Hey Arch." Jughead paused. "You forgave me so easily for leaving and it gave me a false since of hope." 

"What do you mean man?" 

"Betty. She won't even talk to me." 

"Oh, yeah man she was pretty upset when you left. I mean we both were but she took it pretty hard. Give it some time, she'll come around." 

"I hope so." 

\--- 

Betty sat at her usual lunch table with Veronica, Archie and Kevin, another one of there friends. 

"Did you see that Jughead is back?" Kevin excitedly asked the table. 

Betty tried to avoid the question as she pulled her homemade sandwich out of her pink poka dotted lunch bag. 

"And he's sitting with Cheryl Blossom and her annoying squad." Kevin added. 

That got Betty's attention. 

"Cheryl's a colossal bitch. Why would he be sitting with her?" Veronica chimed in. 

"Cheryl wasn't always that way, she use to be our friend. She's probably being nice to lure him into her web of evil." Betty spoke quietly. 

"Yeah well I invited him to sit with us but I think he didn't want to make you uncomfortable Betty. Why are you so mad anyway?" Archie questioned. 

How are you not more mad Arch, he left without saying a goodbye?" Betty questioned back. 

Archie shrugged. "That's old news. Besides if you just let him explain..." 

Archie was interrupted by the sudden presence of Cheryl. 

"Cousin Betty! Looks like our old pal Jughead has come back and seems to know where the cool kids reside." 

"Cheryl have you just come over here to prove once again why nobody actually likes you?" Veronica shot back. 

"Well Jughead seems to like me." She smirked and with a flip of her long red hair she walked back to her table. 

Betty watched as Cheryl sat beside Jughead once again, caressing his shoulder with her blood red claws like a feral cat. 

Betty tried to convince herself that this did not make her jealous, it just made her even angrier at Jughead but she seemed to be losing that battle. 

\--- 

After school Jughead walked into his new home on the Northside. It was still odd to him that they were back in Riverdale and living on the Northside but his mom had made a good living for herself as a mechanic back in Toledo and now they could afford to live on this side of town. His mother even had plans of opening up her own shop here in Riverdale. 

His new bedroom was bigger then any other he had ever had but at the moment as he sat down on his bed he felt like the walls were closing in on him. 

All and all it hadn't been a terrible day back. The only negative moments being that of spending Lunch with Cheryl Blossom who had certainly changed over the years. She had always been blunt but now she was just plain rude. Jughead wished he had realized that before he had agreed to sit with her and her cronies at lunch. Bringing him to the other negative which was that Betty seemed to hate him. 

He had wanted to take Archie up on his offer to sit with them and hopefully get another chance to talk with Betty but after what Betty had said at the end of English class he didn't want to continue to push her if she really didn't want to talk to him. He just had to hope that Archie was right and with time she would warm up to the idea of possibly letting him explain things. 

Jughead reached into his nightstand drawer and pulled out the only picture he had left of the two of them. He loved how happy they seemed, he wanted to get back to that. Back then Jughead loved making Betty laugh, her smile was one of the first things he had fallen in love with. He'll admit it. He was in love with Betty Cooper from the moment he laid eyes on her at age 4 but it wasn't until he was older and one failed relationship later that he realized what exactly that feeling in his chest was. Jughead had hoped that coming back here might give him a chance to maybe act on those feelings since back then he was far to young to even know what his feelings meant let alone how to act on them. That of course would only happen if she felt the same way but as it was she didn't even seem to like him as a friend anymore. 

"Jug." He heard his sister call out as she turned the corner to enter his room. 

"Hey Jelly, how was school?" 

"It was good, I've already made a few friends." 

Jellybean was lucky because she didn't really have any old relationships to mend. This was one of those times when Jughead wished he had been more of a loner as a kid. Lord knows he was pretty much a loner in Toledo and that had made it fairly easy for him to leave. 

"That's good Jelly." 

Yeah, I still miss Bridget in Toledo but being able to make friends so easily here makes me feel better about moving back." Jellybean smiled as she spoke. 

Jughead returned to staring down at the picture. Jellybean walked over and sat down next to him on the bed. Noticing what he was looking at. 

"What about you Jug? Did things not go well with Betty?" 

"They didn't really go at all. I don't know that she will ever speak to me again." Jughead spoke with sadness. 

"Oh come on Jug that can't be right. From what i remember of Betty she is the sweetest person alive. If she feels even half the way you do about her you can't give up." 

Jughead choked out a laugh. "Yeah. When did you get so intuitive Jelly." 

She shrugged "oh please Jug, you've never been good at keeping your feelings for Betty a secret and honestly I was hoping that being back here would stop this insufferable pining of yours. It's really annoying Jug." Jellybean Joked. 

"Haha" Jughead retorted with a nudge to Jellybeans shoulder. 

"No but seriously Jug, don't give up."Jellybean smiled as she hugged Jughead from the side before exiting his room. 

Jughead could never give up on Betty that much he knew. He stared at the picture a little longer. 

\---

Jughead couldn't focus which is why later that night, despite wanting to give Betty time and space he found himself knocking on the bright red door of the Cooper residence. 

Anxiety filled his veins as he stood and waited for someone to answer the door. After a few minutes he was awkwardly greeted by Alice Cooper. Alice had scared him back in the day and he should have been prepared to feel that same fear again but his mind had been too busy focusing on what he was going to say to Betty if she gave him the chance to explain. 

"Jughead, I heard you were back in town. It's a bit late don't you think?" 

It was late, 8:45pm to be exact. "I know Mrs. Cooper but I would really like to speak to Betty if she's available?" Jughead nervously pleaded. 

For a few seconds Alice gave him the most judgemental look until he heard the clunking of someone coming down the stairs. 

"It's fine mom, it'll just be a few minutes." 

Betty walked towards the door, looking fresh faced and gorgeous in a simple pink tank top and light pink and blue plaid pajama shorts to match. She had slippers on and a light fluffy robe that she immediately tied together to conceal herself a bit more as she seemed to notice the perusing that he instantly berated himself for. 

Alice took her leave then as Betty pushed her way through the door. "Not too long Betty." Alice chided as the door closed behind her. 

Betty rolled her eyes. "What are doing here?" 

"I..." Jughead couldn't find the words. "I..." he tried again and then without warning, without forethought he was walking towards her, placing his hands on her cheeks as he kissed her. For two seconds it was absolute magic. Betty even seemed to return the kiss until relization set in and she pushed him away just as he himself began to pull away in total embarrassment. 

"Betty I am so so sorry, I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry about the kiss, I'm sorry about leaving, I'm just so sorry." Jughead vomited out the words. 

"Jug. You can't just come back here and randomly kiss me." Betty took a deep breath. "Things change Jug, people change. I was hurt when you just disappeared from my world without any even a word." She paused "It hurt like hell!..." 

"For me too." Jughead interrupted "All i can say is that I wanted to say goodbye but I was 11, I had no say in the events that unfolded and I was hurt too." He hesitated. "I missed you." 

Betty seemed Frozen in place and the minutes that passed by seemed like hours but finally she seemed to let her guard down. 

"I missed you too." She spoke quietly. 

A sense of relief washed over Jughead.  
"I'm sorry too Jug, for not being more understanding. Can we just start over?" 

"I would like that." Jughead smiled. 

The door suddenly opened as Alice Cooper stepped out. That same judgemental look on her face as she stared at Jughead and then looked to her daughter. 

"Betty come inside now." Alice requested. 

Betty gave him a smile as she walked inside. 

"I'll see you tomorrow at school Jug." She waved as the door closed behind her. 

Things weren't perfect but she was speaking to him again. Jughead had hope for what tomorrow would bring. 

\---

Betty approached Jughead the following day as he closed his locker. 

"Hi, I'm Betty Cooper." She spoke with an outstretched hand. 

After a moment of confusion, a grin spread across his face. 

"Jughead Jones, nice to meet you Betty Cooper." He shook her hand and felt his heart warm as that smile he loved so much shined back at him. They really were starting over.


End file.
